Reaction to ALDI's Australia Day T-shirt

An Australia Day T-shirt pulled by Aldi amid claims of ‘‘racist’’ branding had been approved by the federal government.

The discount supermarket had been criticised for a range of promotional T-shirts branded with ‘‘AUSTRALIA EST 1788’’ logos, advertised online.

The design sparked an online clamour with people taking to social media to label the range racist and culturally insensitive to Australia’s indigenous people, who inhabited the continent for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of the First Fleet from England in 1788.

The seven designs had been approved by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in July 2013, under strict guidelines regarding products bearing the image of the Australian flag.

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A department spokesman said staff had been concerned with the representation of the flag, not external elements. ‘‘In this case, the department provided approval on the basis that the flag was reproduced completely and accurately.’’

The manufacturer of the clothing range, who asked to remain anonymous due to confidentiality agreements with Aldi, called the outcry an overreaction.

‘‘If the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet have seen the designs and approved it, I don’t know what people’s problems are,’’ he said.

An Aldi spokeswoman said the shirt would not be sold following the comments. ‘‘The T-shirts and singlets were scheduled to go on sale on Saturday 11 January 2014,’’ she said. ‘‘The remainder of the range will still be available.’’

Aldi also apologised for the range via its Twitter account following calls for the shirts to be removed from shelves from numerous social media users, including Sunshine Coast University lecturer Matt Mason.

‘‘This is historically wrong and racist,’’ Mr Mason posted. ‘‘Remove them from sale.’’

One online commentator, known as Conrad Henley-Calvert on Twitter, went so far as to write directly to Aldi explaining the reason for his anger and asking it to pull the T-shirt from its range.

‘‘In 1788 Australia was already inhabited by the world’s oldest continuous living culture, and many of the descendants of those first Australians view 26 January as the anniversary of an invasion, not of the founding of a new nation,’’ his letter of complaint read.

Former Race Discrimination Commissioner Tom Calma said he did not believe the design was ‘‘intentionally racist’’.

‘‘What we can say is that it is not accurate, is bad taste and does not in itself lead to an understanding of Australia’s history and heritage,’’ he said. ‘‘In the lead-up to Australia Day it is important that we educate the community, the nation and the international community about what Australia Day celebrates.’’